Aletai Meteorite – Sculptural Anomalous IIIE Iron Specimen

This 41-gram Aletai meteorite has a compact, upright form with a distinctly sculptural character. Its irregular surfaces are built up with raised metallic structures, deep recesses and contrasting textured areas, giving the specimen a remarkable three-dimensional appearance. From the front and sides, different layers of natural relief become visible, making this a particularly characterful individual piece from the Aletai meteorite fall.

Specimen Details

✓ Meteorite Type: Anomalous IIIE Iron Meteorite (Coarse Octahedrite)
✓ Composition: Kamacite, Taenite & Plessite, with elevated Cobalt, Gold & Iridium
✓ Accessory Minerals: Schreibersite, Troilite, Cohenite, Haxonite & Daubréelite
✓ Strewn Field: More than 430 km — the largest recorded on Earth
✓ Total Recovered Mass: More than 74 tonnes
✓ Fall Location: Northern Xinjiang, Altay Prefecture, China
✓ First Identified: 1898, originally catalogued as Armanty
✓ Formal Name: Aletai, adopted in 2016
✓ Specimen Size: ≈24mm wide × 15mm deep × 30mm high
✓ Weight: 41g

The History of the Aletai Meteorite

The Aletai meteorite holds a remarkable distinction in meteorite history: its strewn field extends for more than 430 kilometres, making it the largest meteorite debris field ever recorded on Earth.

Scientists believe this extraordinary dispersal may have resulted from a highly unusual atmospheric trajectory. The incoming meteorite is thought to have entered Earth's atmosphere at a shallow angle, potentially skipping through the upper atmosphere like a stone across water before re-entering and eventually breaking apart over Northern Xinjiang.

This unusual journey also helps explain why the meteorite was not initially recognised as one enormous fall. Fragments recovered from different parts of the vast strewn field were catalogued separately for decades under names including Armanty, Xinjiang and Ulasitai. Chemical and mineralogical studies eventually established that these materials shared a common origin, and in 2016 the known material was formally named Aletai, after the Altay Prefecture of China.

Aletai is classified as an anomalous IIIE iron meteorite and coarse octahedrite, distinguished by its unusual chemistry and a Widmanstätten pattern unlike other known IIIE irons. Its chemistry includes elevated concentrations of elements such as cobalt, gold and iridium. With a total recovered mass exceeding 74 tonnes, Aletai represents an extraordinary meteorite event and one of the most fascinating iron meteorites available to collectors.

Add This Sculptural Aletai to Your Collection

With its upright form, pronounced relief and intricate metallic textures, this 41-gram Aletai is a fascinating specimen to explore from every angle. Add it to your collection and own a distinctive fragment from the world's largest recorded meteorite strewn field.